It was in 1993 when Norwegian saxophonist Jan Garbarek and the Hilliard Ensemble, a vocal quartet from Britain focused on music of the Renaissance, have first recorded together. Their outstanding piece “Officium”, with Garbarek as an additional free-ranging ‘voice’, has resulted in consistently inventive music making since then and sold more than one million copies. The follower “Mnemosyne” (1998) took the story further, expanding the repertoire beyond ‘early music’ to embrace works both ancient and modern.

Now, after another decade of shared experiences, Garbarek and the Hilliards found together once again in the St. Gerold´s monastery and recorded their third album “Officium Novum”.

The Hilliard Ensemble / Jan Garbarek
Officium Novum

Its central focus lies, besides music from Russia, France, Spain and the Estonian Arvo Pärt, on the music of Armenia based on the adaptations of Komitas Vardapet, pieces which draw upon both medieval sacred music and the bardic tradition of the Caucasus. Therefore the musicians have traveled to the countries, studied the music and present it with a passion which shows another unexpected advancement.